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The Eusing Free Internet Window Washer digs into Windows, Web browsers, and a host of other applications to free up space and clear away private information.

The free utility can wash away your browsing history, Windows log files, cookies and list of recently opened documents. It works for Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, Firefox and Chrome, along with a slew of other third-party apps ranging from Adobe Acrobat to WinZip to PowerDVD.

In my tests, Eusing Free Internet Window Washer cleared what I told it to. To select what to wash away, click the Wash Settings button, and then sift through the tabs for Windows, Browsers, and Applications. You can also set up a custom cleaning task, such as clearing out a specific directory or registry item, as well as an automatic schedule.

A Test Now button will show the total number of items that would be deleted by clicking the Wash Now button, but it won't show you the specific items to be removed. However, the View History option, under Tools, will display some current history items such as existing IE cookies (note that this option shows data that could be removed, rather than a history of what has been cleaned).

If you're looking for a system cleaner, it's worth trying out both the Eusing Free Internet Window Washer and Piriform's CCleaner, a similar donationware utility. Both applications do much the same thing, but while CCleaner has a more intuitive interface and a registry cleaner, it lacks Window Washer's scheduling option and wider range of application support. Both tools are free (though both also request donations), so take your pick.

Note: During the program's installation, Window Washer's developer requests that users register the software and donate towards its further development (via PayPal), but neither step is required.

--Erik Larkin